Cleaning apparatus



Aug. 14, 1945. E. J. M GUINNESS CLEANING APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Shet 1 FiledApril 7, 1943 s v, S E E N R N M AW m m T v mm N U T u .l E G A V c. m mM a J. x F It J E \l V v v Q B 2 wv 1. (\|J\\\km. QV m6 Om M R v 9 2 Iwe .0 m mm E. J. M GUINNESS CLEANING APPARATUS Filed April '7, 1943 3Sheets- Sheet 2 llllz rll ma mu INVENTOR ERYW A TTORNEY Aug. 14, 1945.E. J. MCGUINNESS 2,382,892

CLEANING APPARATUS Filed April '1, 1945 s Shets-Sheet s INVENTOI? E.J-MQ GUINNESS F-RMM atented Aug. 14, 194

STATES PATENT OFFICE CLEANING APPARATUS Application April 7, 1943,Serial No. 482,085

11 Claims. This invention relates to cleaning apparatus,

' and more particularly to apparatus for cleaning machined parts offoreign particles.

During the. manufacture of machined parts, particularly those havinggrooves 0r depressions therein, foreign particles may be present whichrender it diiiicult to assemble other parts thereon. Thus it isimportant that such articles be free of the foreign particles so thataccurate assemblage of parts thereon may be assured.

An object of the invention is to provide a cleaning apparatusparticularly adapted for freeing machined parts of foreign particles.

With this and other objects in view, the invention comprises anapparatus for cleaning machined or other circular articles, including anelement partially conforming to the article and mounted to engage thearticle during rotation thereof to remove the foreign particlestherefrom.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the followingdetailed description when considered in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, wherein "Fig. l is a vertical sectional view ofthe apparatus;

Fig, 2 is a top plan view of the apparatus;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary detailed view of the article feeding andcleaning means, this view being taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. i is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line l-- i ofFig. 1;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary detailed view of a portion of thestructure shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the articlefeedingand rotating mechanism, and

Fig. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary top plan view taken substantiallyalong the line 5-7 of Fig. 3, portions thereof being broken away. I

Referring now to the drawings, attention is first directed to Fig. 2,which illustrates a. base it! upon which a motor H and a speed reducingunit M are mounted. The motor I! may be supplied with a suitableelectrical energy to cause it to rotate its shaft it in a desireddirection. A coupling l5 connects the shaftlt with an input shaft 96 ofthe unit l2. An output shaft H of the unit M has a cam l8 and aneccentric 19 mounted thereon. it is the purpose of the unit 52 to reducethe driving speed received at i6 and transmitted to the output shaft ll.

A pulley 20 is also mounted upon the shaft I4 of the motor and isconnected, through a belt 2 I, to a pulley 22. The pulley 22 is fixedlymounted upon a collar 23 which in turn is secured at any desiredposition on a shaft 24, the latter being supported by bearings 25 and 26for axial movement therein. On the forward end of the shaft 24, a chuckor rotatable unit 21 is mounted, the end thereof being recessed, asillustrated in Fig. 6, to receive a resilient chuck member 28 for apurpose hereinafter described. A yoke 3|, mounted upon a bearing whichin turn is mounted upon a reduced portion of collar 23, carriesdiametrically opposed pins or projections 32 (Figs. 1 and 2). A camlever 33 of the contour shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 4, has spaced ends 34forked, as at 35, to straddle their respective projections 32. The lever33 is pivotally supported, at 36, and supports a cam roller 31positioned to be engaged by the cam 98. A spring 38, connected to thelever 33,

applies a force to move the shaft and the rotataall) ble member to theleft (Fig. 2). The cam functions against the force of the spring to movethe shaft and its rotatable member in the opposite direction, that is tothe right.

A T-shaped bracket 39 (Figs. 1, 2 and 4), mounted upon the base i 0, hasa supporting plate it fixed thereto and provided with a central aperture4!, as illustrated in Fig, 1. A shaft t2,

Journalled in a bearing 43 of a bracket M, and a bearing 65 of thebracket 39 has a ratchet wheel 36 mounted thereon between the brackets39 and id. A lever $8 is rotat'ably mounted upon the shaft 42 betweenthe ratchet wheel 86 and a collar $9, the latter being fixed to theshaft. A pivot member 53, carried by the lever 38, is fixed to the leveragainst rotation by the aid of a pin 5! and has a slotted head portion52 upon which is disposed a helical spring 53. One end of the spring isfixed in a slot 54 of the head 52, as illustrated in Fig. 1, the otherend thereof being connected to a pawl 56 which is pivotally mounted uponthe member 50 and urged into engagement with the teeth of the ratchetwheel. 46 through the force of the spring 53. An extensible link 51operatively connects the pivot member 50 of the lever 88 with theeccentric Hi. This link includes a portion 38 connected to the pivotmember 5H and having an aperture 53 in the opposite end thereof toreceive an interfitting projection 60 of a portion 8|, the latter beingconnected to the eccentric 19. A spring b2, disposed concentric with theportion 58 and having its ends connected respectively to the portions 58and BI, nor mally holds the portions of the link in retracted positionsbut permits expansion of the link should the occasion arise that such isnecessary.

As illustrated in Figs. 1 and 6, a bearing mounted in the supportingplate '48 serves as a mounting for a rotatable member 66, disposed inaxial alignment with tlie rotatable unit 21 on the shaft 24, and hasanarticle engaging surface 61 positioned against axial movement.

Means is provided to feed articles to be cleaned intermittently betweenthe rotatable members 21 and 66. This means includes a supporting wheel68 fixedly mounted upon the shaft 42 and having outwardly projectingpins 69 disposed at spaced positions adjacent its periphery. An articlesupporting wheel or element 10, recessed as at II to receive thedisk-like portion of the wheel 68 and apertured at 12 to receive'thepins 69, is also centrally apertured for mounting upon the shaft 42, asillustrated in Fig. 1, and to be secured in place thereon through theaid of a nut I4.

In the present embodiment the articles to be cleaned, indicated at 15,are machined with a. plurality of grooves vl6 therein. These articlesmay be condenser shafts, the grooves to receive the movable condenserplates. To assure the possibility of assembling the condenser plates inthe grooves, it is necessary that metal chips and' other foreignparticles, which may be present thereon during or after the machining ofthese articles, be removed. The article supporting element 16 istherefore provided with a pluralityof recesses or pockets 18 to receivethe articles- 15. These pockets are shaped so as to permit rotation ofthe articles therein when moved to the cleaning position in axialalignment'wlth the rotatable members 21 and 66. Furthermore, they arespaced so as to successively position their articles at the cleaningpositions during the movement of the ratchet wheel 46 the distance ofone tooth.

Although the articles are disposed loosely in the pockets at the feedingposition, means is provided to accurately locate the articles in theirpockets for movement into cleaning position. This means includes aresilient member or spring 80 carried by an arm 8| supported by theplate 40, the spring being positioned to engage the outer ends of thearticles and force them inwardly to cause their inner ends to ride uponthe adjacent surface of the plate 40. Another resilient element 82,supported by the arm 8|, is positioned to ride upon the periphery of thearticle supporting element 10, to retain the articles in their pockets.This structure is shown clearly in Figs. 3 and '7. While viewing thesefigures, attention is directed to a fluid nozzle 83, which is in theform of a cylinder with a closed end ha'ving an elongate aperture 84therein to direct a fluid toward the article at the cleaning position. Asupply line 85 is connected to the nozzle 83 to supply the cleaningfluid thereto.

A cleaning element 81, mounted upon acradle 88 which is pivotallysupported at 69, extends forwardly to what has been termed the cleaningposition, where its forward end lies in interen- I gagement with thearticle I5 at this position. By viewing the article 15 shown in Fig. 6,it will also be observed that a plurality of notches 96 is cut back agiven distance, as illustrated in Fig. 6, these notches being adapted toreceive the high or outer portions of the article and causing theformation of teeth of projections 9| which extend into the groove 16- ofthe article to engage not only the inner cylindrical surfaces but theadJacent walls of the side walls of the notches. Thus the cleaningelement 81 is formed to partially conform .to the article to engage allsurfaces thereof during rotation of the article, to forcibly remove allforeign particles from. the articles. The contour of the cleaningelement 81 therefore depends upon the contour of the article, and ifarticles of different contours from that shown are to be cleaned, suchvariations will be present in the contour of the clean-' ing elementemployed. By viewing Fig. 3, it will be observed that the rearmost endof the cradle 88 has connected thereto a spring 92 normally urging aforward end of the cleaning element toward the article at the cleaningposition, this movement being limited and under the control of anadjustable stop 98.

Considering now the operation of the apparatus, let it be understoodthat the motor II is energized, causing rotation of the shaft 24 andwith it the rotatable member or unit 21. At the same time the unit l2receives a rotating power at its input shaft l6, transmitting a givenrotary motion to the shaft or output [1, including the cam l8 and theeccentric l9. Thus the axial movement of the rotatable unit 21 throughthe cam I8 and the lever 88, will be in timed relation with theintermittent movement of the article support 10 through the actuation ofthe pawl and ratchet 54.-46.

When the rotatable member 21 is in its inoperative position, the articlesupport 16 will be advanced one position to locate an article in thecleaning position in axial alignment with the rotatable member 66, andin engagement with the surface 61 thereof. As soon as this movement hasbeen completed, the rotatable member 21 will 'be moved into engagementwith the article, the resilient chuck member 28 affording sufllcientconnection between the rotatable member and the article to causerotation of the article in its pocket 18 and relative to the cleaningelement 81. During rotation of the article, the engagement of everysurface thereof with the cleaning element will bring about the removalof all foreign particles from the article. At this same time a sheet ofcleaning fluid, which may be air or any other suitable fluid, will bedirected toward the article through the aperture 84 in the nozzle 83, towash the foreign particles from the article. This operation may continueauto- 4 matically, requiring only the feeding of the articles into thepockets of the article support 16. The continued rotation of the member21 will cause at least one complete revolution of the article, if not aplurality of revolutions thereof, to assure a complete removal of allforeign particles.

Although specific improvements of the invention have been shown anddescribed, it will be understood that they are but illustrative and thatvarious modifications may be made therein without departing from thescope and spirit of this invention as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for cleaning machined ar- .icles comprising an articlefeeding element adapted to successively move articles, having grooves intheir peripheries, relative to a cleaning position, a cleaning member,conforming to the general contours of the peripheries of the articles,mounted to interengage the articles successively at the cleaningposition, and means to rotate the articles at the cleaning position torender the member effective to remove foreign particles from thearticles.

2. An apparatus for cleaning machined articles comprising an articlefeeding element adapted foreign particles therefrom.

3. An apparatus for cleaning machined articles comprising an articlefeeding element adapted to successively move articles, havingconcentrically machined contours, relative to a cleaning position, acleaning member, conforming to the general contours of the articles,mounted to interengage the articles successively at the cleaningposition, means to rotate the articles at the cleaning position torender the member effective to remove foreign particles from thearticles, and means to intermittently move the element to advance thearticle.

4. An apparatus for cleaning machined articls comprising an element,having spaced recesses therein to receive articles having concentricallymachined contours, mounted for movement to successively advance thearticles to a cleaning position, a cleaning member, conformmg to thegeneral contours of the articles, mounted to interengage the articlessuccessively at the cleaning position, and means to rotate the articlesat the cleaning position to render the member effective to removeforeign particles from the articles.

5. An apparatus for cleaning machined articles comprising an element,having spaced recesses therein to receive articles having concentricallymachined contours, mounted for movement to successively advance thearticles to a cleaning position, a cleaning member, conform Eng to thegeneral contours of the articles, mounted to interengage the articlessuccessively at the cleaning position, means to rotate the articles atthe cleaning position to render the member effective to remove foreignparticles from the articles, and means to retain the articles in theirrecesses during their movement relative to the cleaning position.

6. An apparatus for cleaning machined-articles comprising an articlefeeding element adapted to successively move articles, havingconcentrically machined contours, relative to a cleaning position, acleaning member, conforming to the general contours of the articles,mounted to interengage the articles successively atthe cleaningposition, means to rotate the articles at the cleaning position mountedfor movement into and out of engagement with the. articles at the saidposition, and separate means tocause movement of the element androtating means in timed relation' with respect to each other.

7. An apparatus for cleaning circular articles comprising rotatablemembers mounted for relative axial movement, means to position acircular article between the members in axial alignment with the membersfor rotation therewith, means held against rotation with the article andin engagement therewith to clean the article of foreign particles, apower means, and separate means'driven by the power means to causerotation of the members, cause positioning of the article and causeaxial movement of'the rotatable members.

8 An apparatus for cleaning circular articles comprising a driven memberrotatable about its axis, a drive member axially aligned with the drivenmember, a member having a recess therein to support an article andadapted to position the article between the drive and driven members,power means driving the drive member to rotate the article and thedriven member, and afixed cleaning element engaging the article duringrotation thereof to clean the article.

9. An apparatus for cleaning circular articles comprising a drivenmember rotatable about its axis, a drive member axially aligned with thedriven member, a member having a recess therein to support an articleand adapted to position the article between the driveand driven members,power means drivingthe clrive member to rotate the article and thedriven member, and a fixed cleaning element engaging the article duringrotation thereof to 'clean the article, the recessed member beingfurther adapted to receive the article from the drive and driven membersand move the article away from the members.

10. An apparatus for cleaning articles comprising spaced rotatablemembers-having aligned axes, a feeding wheel having spaced pockets inthe periphery thereof to receive articles, means .to cause intermittentrotation of the wheel to successively present the articles-in thepockets between the members, means to cause the members to grip androtate the. articles singly, and means positioned to engage the articleswhile rotating to clean the articles.

11. An apparatus for cleaning articles comprising spaced rotatablemembers having aligned axes, a feeding wheel having spaced pockets inthe periphery thereof to receive articles, means to cause intermittentrotation of the wheel to successively present the articles in thepockets between the members, means to cause the members to grip androtate the articles singly, means positioned to engage. the articleswhile rotating to clean the articles", and means to cause the members tosuccessively release the-articles into their respective pockets.

EDWARD J. 'McGUINNESS.

